EVENING. People.

Irish Language To Be Taught In British Schools In 1999

Britain announced on Wednesday that Irish would be taught in its schools from next year, showing how bilateral relations have thawed with the advent of Northern Ireland's peace agreement.

British Education Secretary David Blunkett, in Dublin for talks with Irish counterpart Micheal Martin, said he understood the importance of the language both to Irish people living in Britain and to inter-community relations "in these islands."

"Minister Martin has discussed this issue with me since (the Labor government) took office (in 1997) and . . . I feel it perfectly reasonable and fair to ask our curriculum authority to include Irish on the same basis as other European languages and not just as an added extra," Blunkett said.

He told state broadcaster RTE that Irish would be included among Britain's national curriculum languages in the 1999-2000 academic year.

In Ireland, the language is a key part of the educational curriculum, although only a tiny fraction of the population are fluent and use it regularly.

Though not compulsory, it is required knowledge for anyone joining the civil service and a definite advantage in many walks of life, especially politics and state broadcasting.

In Northern Ireland, learning Irish is seen as a statement of political affinity with the republican fight for Irish unity and Sinn Fein, the Irish Republican Army's political wing, uses it regularly in Belfast's new assembly.